Another insightful entry from the book Everyday Psychology, by Dr Steven Edwards.
‘If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away“. — Henry David Thoreau (in his famous book ‘Waldon Pond’)
Dr Edwards comments: Although companionship is an interpersonal basis of life, there are often times when one has to do one’s own thing, run one’s own race, have the courage of one’s own convictions.
Daguerreotype of Henry David Thoreau, taken in Worcester, Massachusetts, in June 1856. Wikipedia)
Other implications are as follows: It is not the winning or the losing, but how you play the game or run the race. Play your own game, but vary the game and participants. In debate, play according to the rules, and attack the argument, not the person. The enjoyment and goal of the game is not only the finishing line or endpoint, but also getting there, and how one does this.
Dilys comments: Losing pace does not have to mean losing one’s aged experience, new experiences, and the joys of life !
FEATURED IMAGE: Walton Pond, where Thoreau spent two years in seclusion, photographed in 2010. Wikipedia)